Spilygy Tym
Coyote News, est. 1976
January 13, 2010
P.0. Box 870
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Branch Matthew
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205
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New year will see 25th Tribal Council
B y D ave M cM ech a n
Spilyay Tymoo
Tribal m em bers this spring will
elect the Twenty-Fifth Tribal Coun
cil o f the C onfederated Tribes o f
Warm Springs.
Within the -next several weeks, the
membership o f the three districts will
nominate their candidates for the Coun
cil.
The current Council took office on
May 1, 2007; so the new Council will
take their oath o f office around that
same time this year. As stated in the
tribal Constitution o f 1938, the elected
Council members serve terms o f three
years. The incumbent Council members
are:
Simnasho District representatives:
R on S uppah, C o u n cil ch airm an ;
Aurolyn Stwyer, Council vice-chair
w om an;
C ouncilm an
R afael
Queahpama; and Warm Springs Chief
Delvis Heath.
Agency D istrict representatives:
Councilmen Stanley “Buck” Smith and
Austin Greene, Councilwoman Bernice
Mitchell; and Wasco Chief N elson
Wallulatum.
Seekseekqua District representa
tives: Councilmen Wendell Jim and
Wilson Wewa, and Paiute Chief Joseph
Moses.
The Tribal Constitution and By-laws
o f 1938 established the Council as in
cluding one chief from each district
(serving for life); three representatives
from Agency and Simnasho, and two
from Seekseequa.
There are currently 2,844 members
who are qualified to vote in the elec
tion.
Tribal members 21 and older, or
married, have the right to vote in the
election. Current voting data from the
Vital Statistics'Department reflects the
youthful makeup o f the Confederated
Tribes. The data shows the number o f
qualified voters in each age group.
There are 127 qualified voters who
are 21 years o f age, the single largest
group. Next largest is the 23-year-oIds,
with 123 qualified votéis.
Third largest is the 25-year-olds, with
108 qualified voters; followed by 26-
year-olds, and then 24-year-olds.
Council powers
The elections are “by secret ballot
or prevailing custom, as desired by the
people o f the district,” according to the
Tribal Constitution. Secret ballots
counted by the Election Committee
has been the means o f election for
the at least the past several Council
elections.
The Tribal Council is the central
governing body o f the Confeder
ated Tribes o f Warm Springs. The
Tribal Constitution defines the pow
ers- o f the Council. Some o f these
powers are, for example:
To manage the economic affairs
o f the Confederated Tribes and to
appropriate available funds for pub
lic purposes; and,
To charter subordinate organiza
tions for economic purposes and to
regulate the activities o f all coop
erative associations o f members of
the Confederated Tribes, among sev
eral other enumerated powers.
Hoops season
under 'way
The . Madras White Buffalo girls
basketball season is under way.
The girls had an 8-2 preseason
record, but then lost their opener last
Friday to Summit. This Friday, Jan.
15, they play Pendleton at Pendleton,
and then face Mt. View at home on
Tuesday, Jan. 19.
In past years, girls from the tribes
have been som e o f the key players
on the White Buffalos, and this year
Police seek
help with
drug, gang
enforcement
B y Terri H arber
Spilyay Tymoo
The Warm Springs Police D epart
ment is pursuing designation o f a High-
Intensity D rug Trafficking Area, ac
cording to Police Chief Carmen Smith.
“I believe we’re going to get it,” he
said. “I think it’ll work for everybody”
Better known as HIDTA, the clas
sification would allow the tribe’s police
to better work with other tribes to
gather and share inform ation about
drug and gang activity.
It would also pave the way for other
cooperative law enforcement ventures
among area tribes, and help the Warm
Springs department boost its chances
for obtaining grants to offset operation
costs, he said.
This might include, for example, of
ficer training on how to spot and safely
avoid booby traps set near illegal mari
juana growing sites, Smith said.
K eeping track o f suspects and
known offenders is crucial because,
Smith said, these people tend to move
from one tribal area to another “when
things get hot.”
The recent discoveries o f marijuana
farms and the increase in gang activity
here on the reservation make obtain
ing this designation im portant, he said.
F our large pot-grow ing sites nave
been found on the W arm Springs Res
is no exception. There are nine play
ers who are tribal members or closely
tied to the tribes.
The White Buffalo girls varsity
basketball team players are:
(back row left to right, name
followed by grade) Rachel
Simmons (11), JoElla Smith
(11), Marissa Ahern (12),Abby
Scott (10), Klesia Plazola (12),
Cheyenne Wahnetah (11), and
Karlen Yallup (12); (front left to
right, name and grade) Merima
Made (12), Krisit Olney (12),
Kali Kaltsukis (12), and Mallory
Smith (10).
ervation since July 2007. The m ost
recent discovery, in August 2009, was
o f a location where authorities found
more than 1,600 plants, according to
previous reports.
Though the focus is primarily on
drug and gang activity, Smith believes
the designation could also assist Warm
Springs and other tribes’ police forces
to keep order during large-scale events,
such as at multi-tribe pow wows.
Reservations have small law en
forcement agencies because they po
lice areas with low populations. Money
to pay for borrowing officers as the
need arises could be more easily found
that it is now, he said.
HH
Dave M cM echan/Spilyay
See
P O L IC E
on page 9
Police weigh benefits of non-lethal weapons Miss W.S.
Pageant
A test o f the safety and
Tribal Council asks
effectiveness o f pepper
for information
on Jan. 22
about use o f less
ball guns was expected
dangerous devices
B y T erri H a rb er
Spilyay Tymoo
The Warm Springs Police D epart
ment may add some new.weapons to
their arsenal, specifically devices that
are less deadly than firearms.
The Tribal Council requested infor
mation on the viability o f having po
lice officers use non-lethal weapons and
heard about the subject during a meet
ing on Jan. 5.
A taser can be “a very effective
weapon” because it can reduce resis
tance to arrest, which, in turn, would
reduce injuries to officers and suspects,
said Jim Soules, branch general man
ager o f public safety for the tribe.
“I ’d imagine we’d want to do P.R.
work before we introduce it,” said
C o u n cil C h airm an R on Suppah.
“They’d be shocked - pardon the pun!”
“I f we do bring it, it won’t be popu
lar with the people who’d get it used on
them,” Soules replied.
Residents will be made aware o f the
addition o f any new weapons before
officers start using them in public, he
emphasized.
Using a taser instead o f a gun can
have drawbacks, however, especially
when a suspect continues to fight after
being hit once with a 50,000-volt shock.
Suspects heavily under the influence of
alcohol and drugs often require mul
tiple shocks because they’re more likely
to struggle. And the more shocks some
one receives, the more likely the weapon
will cause physical harm, he said.
Suspects with severe mental prob
lems, specifically psychosis, also try to
fight through taser shocks, he said.
N o suspect apprehended at depart
ments where he’s worked during his
career died from taser shock. And
worldwide, death by stun guns is “a rare
thing,” he said.
“It’s not as lethal as a gunshot.”
O ther possibilities would be rifles
that shoot beanbags and pepper ball
guns, Soules told the council.-
this week...
“T he whole purpose is to make
people safer,” he said o f potential ad
ditions to officers’ toolkits.
Each weapon has specific purposes
and situations where it might work best.
Tasers, for instance, are electric guns
with probes that produce a shock that
would incapacitate most people, but not
cause them perm anent harm . T he
weapon is best suited for a shooting
length o f up to 25 feet, Soules said.
And each type o f weapon “has dif
ferent applications and carries some
potential hazards for side effects,” he
said.
According to news reports, pepper
and beanbag projectiles have killed
people on occasion, particularly when
used improperly or when trying to con
trol crowds. Both types o f these arms
are sometimes referred to as “riot
guns” and are usually designed to
work best from a distance.
A traditional firearm might not
be appropriate for officers to use
when a suspect is highly despondent
and armed. The person could be
talking about committing suicide
while holding a gun or knife and
randomly turning it toward himself
or herself, at police, or at anyone
else nearby, for example, Soules
told the council.
An array o f armaments would
“provide us with more options,” he
said.
Warm Springs officers currently
carry pepper spray, baton, hand
cuffs and firearms. The department
also has a dog that goes out on pa
trol and tracks suspects, among
other duties.
A test o f the safety and effec
tiveness o f pepper ball guns was
expected this week, Soules added.
N o tests or demonstrations o f
o th e r n o n -leth al w eapons are
scheduled.
The Miss Warm Springs Pageant is
set for the evening o f Friday, Jan.- 22
at the Agency Longhouse.
Contestants can turn in their entry
forms to the Tribal Council office. The
deadline for entering is this Friday, Jan.
15 at 5 p.m.
Interested applicants must be 18-24
years old at the time o f the pageant.
The applicant must never have been
married, cohabitating or have depen
dents.
The applicant must be drug and al
cohol free, an enrolled member o f the
Confederated Tribes o f Warm Springs,
and a resident o f the reservation for
at least one year, although school is
taken into consideration.
Also, the applicant must maintain
residency on the reservation for a year
after winning the title, although school
again will be taken into consideration.
For details, call the Tribal Council
office at 553-3257.